The Power of Cursing and Blessing

I came home from work the other day and quickly checked my email as I waited for the supper call. A couple of emails later I came across one that was very discouraging. You know, the kind that causes tears to well up and your heart to drop to your stomach with disappointment. In the overall scheme of things it was relatively minor but it was like a harmonic on a chord that was already vibrating pretty forcefully. I went to the dinner table and immediately took it out on my family. Seeing the look on my face my wife asked, “How was your day at work Honey?” To which I lovingly replied, “It was fine. It was just like any other day at work. I can’t stand being there. I’d rather be doing other things besides what I do for a living. But, as far as work goes, it was fine.” After that we managed our way through the rest of our mealtime being careful not to talk about anything that might set me off.

After dinner I returned to my office and finished reading my email while I left my wife and son to clean up the dishes. Man was I making deposits or what? The first one I opened was on the opposite spectrum from the discouraging one I had read earlier. This one told me that my article on “Transparent Leadership” (see my earlier blog entry) had been selected for publication and that it would be featured on the front page of the website/newsletter on which it was being published. And if that weren’t enough, the announcement was accompanied by words of praise from the Editor regarding my insights. It was… well… you know… the kind of email that causes tears to well up and your heart to swell with pride. I quickly printed the email, pranced out of my office, and handed it to my wife. I was grinning from ear-to-ear. She took it from me cautiously. She was, no doubt, confused by my sudden mood swing which is very abnormal for me.

It was at this point that I heard that little voice inside telling me what jerk I had been. You know… the nearly imperceptible whisper that comes from the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth… The one that causes tears to well up and a lump to form in your throat. I realized that once again I had allowed my feelings to define me rather than refine me. I reacted rather than responded.

After I asked my wife’s forgiveness I took some time to re-center and process what had happened or, rather, what I had allowed to happen. I wanted to get some value from examining my responses, both positive and negative. Aside from another poignant illustration as to my need to better control my reactions to my feelings, I also saw the power of cursing and blessing. There is great power in the tongue, the pen, or the digital page. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

So, I will eat its fruit. I will examine the curse and look for any applicable truths. I will acknowledge those truths and change my attitudes and behaviors so that I may conform myself more fully to the image of Christ. I will do likewise with the blessing. I will acknowledge the aspects that are true, recognizing that it is only my conformance to the image of Christ that allowed them to be and gives them value.

Excelsior!